Display technology has evolved from the original TV cathode ray tube, which utilizes a phosphorescent screen over which a stream of electrons is directed to cause changes in the optical properties thereof, to liquid crystal (LCD) displays which allow the implementation of flat screen displays. Another kind of display, image transfer display, has been utilized to realize large format displays, such as billboards and the such. One common aspect of the latest technology is the conversion of the image to individual picture elements (pixel) and the mapping of these pixels onto a display surface.
The image transfer displays have generally utilized fiber optic bundles to pick up an image in one plane and transfer that image to another plane. However, one disadvantage to this type of display is that it is merely an image transfer display and requires the image to be projected onto the first plane with sufficient intensity to propagate through the fibers and onto a larger display. The larger display achieves its size increase through a number of different techniques. One is the use of a lens at the exit end of the fiber optic cable and another utilizes a slanted fiber optic cable. This slanted fiber optic cable increases the overall surface area as compared to the input of the cable. This type of system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,730, issued Sep. 27, 1988, U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,280, issued Mar. 17, 1987 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,530, issued Sep. 19, 1989, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.